Behind the beaches of Kenya's north coast, on the low red ridges inland from Kilifi, sit a string of forest patches that look like nothing much from the road. They are the kayas, once the fortified villages of the Mijikenda peoples, the nine related groups that include the Giriama, and today they are the sacred groves where elders still gather. The Kaya Giriama forest is one of them, and part of a UNESCO listing that covers several of these remnants of coastal forest. The village huts were long ago abandoned and the clearings overgrown, but the grove survives because it is protected by custom, so that cutting a tree or entering without permission is a serious matter.
What you find here, then, is more of a woodland than a monument. It is a fragment of the East African coastal forest, rich in species found nowhere else, with huge old trees, shade that drops the temperature by several degrees, birds, butterflies, and probably a few rustling things in the leaf litter. The elders keep the sacred sites, hold meetings and rituals, and receive visitors with a mixture of courtesy and caution, so arrange a visit through the local committee or a guide rather than wandering in. Ask before taking pictures, and expect to leave a small donation.
The roads here are a pleasant jumble. The main highway from Mombasa to Nairobi passes through Mariakani, about eight kilometres from this point, and from there the smaller roads wander through cashew trees, coconut palms, mango orchards and maize patches, with red dust in the dry months and mud in the long rains from April to June. The tarmac gives out and the murram begins faster than the map suggests, and potholes, goats, bicycles and boda-boda motorcycles share the track. Watch the heat and carry water, because the humidity builds fast.
Mariakani is a busy highway town with fuel, roadside food and plenty of trucks, and it is the sensible place to prepare, since the villages around the kaya are small and may have no pump. Kilifi and Mombasa, both within a couple of hours, have all the services you would want, and the sea is within reach when you need a swim. Roadside stalls sell roasted cashews and sugarcane. Mornings are best, with softer light under the canopy, and sunset comes quickly, so aim to be back on the tarmac by dusk.